Kiel Johnson

Publish or Perish

October 17 – November 14, 2009

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
The Twin Lens Reflex, 2009
Video; 3 minutes and 37 seconds

Stayin' Busy: Concept 9, 2009
Ink and acrylic on panel
44 x 54 inches

Publish or Perish, 2009
Pine ply, steel, aluminum, inkjet on paper, chipboard
96 x 42 x 92 inches

Your View, Their Side, His Version, Her Story, 2009
Chipboard, tape and glue
28 x 49 x 12 inches

Two Sides to Every Story: AKA Boom Boom, 2009
Chipboard, foam, tape and glue
54 x 37 x 22.5 inches

Twin Lens Reflex Camera, 2009
Cardboard, chipboard, glue and tape
60 x 20 x 17 inches

Initial Seed: Concept 6, 2009
Ink on paper
23 x 30 inches

Fall In, 2009
Ink on paper
30 x 25 inches

After and Before, 2009
Ink on paper
30 x 25 inches

Building the Movement, 2009
Ink on paper
30 x 25 inches

The Westerly Wind of Zephyr, 2009
Ink on paper
25 x 30 inches

Everything I Own, 2009
Ink on paper
44 x 53 inches

Export the Output, 2008
Cardboard chipboard and acrylic
48 x 96 inches

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
Long Beach, September 22, 2009 #5, 2009
Unique photographic print
16 x 10 inches

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
Long Beach, September 22, 2009 #2, 2009
Unique photographic print
8 x 10 inches

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
Long Beach, September 22, 2009 #4, 2009
Unique photographic print
8 x 10 inches

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
Long Beach, September 22, 2009 #1, 2009
Unique photographic print
8 x 10 inches

Kiel Johnson & Theo Jemison
Long Beach, September 22, 2009 #3, 2009
Unique photographic print
8 x 10 inches

Installation view

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Installation View

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kiel Johnson
"Publish or Perish"

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 17, 5 – 7p
On view October 17 – November 14, 2009

Following up his 2008 inaugural solo show with Mark Moore Gallery, Kiel Johnson invites us to step inside his compellingly prolific imagination with several new drawings and a large-scale sculptural installation.

Deviating from his trademark cardboard medium, Johnson presents an altogether different exhibition born of obsessive personal inventory and astute social commentary. Publish or Perish illustrates the rapid expansion of globalized communication and the subsequent dichotomy of a retracted sense of interaction despite a heightened sense of interconnectivity. Using the printing press as the overarching figure of information's evolution, Johnson constructs a type of archival environment that denotes the transformation of our personal relationships to the tangible, the local and the sentimental. Johnson's distinctive fascination with mechanization and fine intricacies is embodied in both his construction of an "autobiographical" printing press, and his meticulous ink renderings, which demonstrate the compulsive human need to produce, document, proliferate and authenticate histories – much like the artist himself.

"His cartoons feel weirdly solid and real, while his physical objects are like cartoons come to life. Johnson has created his own wonderful world, distinct from ours, but always open to visitors."
- OC Weekly, "Best Visual Artist: Kiel Johnson" (2008)

A 2008 recipient of the Pollock-Krazner Grant, Kiel Johnson received his BFA from the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) before earning his MFA at California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, CA). Johnson is in a number of public collections, including the Creative Artist Agency (Beverly Hills, CA) and Todd Oldham (New York, NY), and has exhibited in venues throughout the United States, such as 0the Architecture and Design Museum (Los Angeles, CA). Johnson will be featured in PULSE Miami Contemporary Art Fair this December with Davidson Contemporary (NY), with whom he will also exhibit with in Fall, 2010.

For more information on Kiel Johnson, the opening event or additional press materials, please visit www.markmooregallery.com or contact:

Catlin Moore
Gallery Manager
310.453.3031
catlin@markmooregallery.com

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